Gator / Mule / Ranger / RTV / UTV / golf cart... do you have one that you use around your homestead?

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Many thoughts as I read all the posts. Will be tossing out notes as I read things from others posts in sequence.
To start, I currently have and regularly use either my Kubota RTV 900 or my Honda Rancher ATV.

As for riding the ATV like a motorcycle, I pretty much gave up on that and for the most part, I ride sidesaddle with both legs on the left side. Got used to riding like that after having severe issues with my hip (that has been replaced) but still ride sidesaddle anyway.

As for the golf carts and in particular, the EZGo Workhorse, great machines for getting around and doing light chores. A bit lacking in terms of bed capacity, towing and going down hills as there's no engine braking as I recall. I had a Workhorse myself but due to space, one of the 3 machines (EZGo, ATV and RTV) one had to go so it was the EZGo.

For the JD Gators with the Yanmar, that engine is pretty much bulletproof and will run forever. It's been years since I looked at the Deere's but IIRC, I didn't care for their engine braking going down steep hills.

Yamaha Rhinos, Polaris Rangers, Can Am & Arctic Cat... These are a mixed breed. They have a mix of "fun factor" and "work factor". Fun to play with but can do decent work although can't work in the same category of the JD diesel, Kawasaki diesel or Kubota RTV's (which have a very low "fun factor" but high "work factor").

As mentioned by Hardcalibres, the RTV has the toughest tranny of all of them as well as the best descent control. I can drive down very steep hills with nearly a half-ton in the bed and I still don't need to touch the brakes. Tranny holds the machine back.

As for Federal & State restrictions, there are limitations on width. Check regulations in your area if you plan on riding on government land. I "think" many are limited to 50" width.

PopPopT - Are you still in PA? If so, be advised that like ATV's, you'll have to register any UTV with the State. You'll get an ATV 2 plate.

Weight may be something to consider. An ATV runs around 5-600#, Rhinos, Rangers... are around 1000#. The work machines are much heavier and a Kubota RTV pushes 2000#. If you have soft ground, the heavy machines sink in much deeper (like in your yard in the Spring).

Comforts - Each have pros and cons. The work horse machines aren't nearly as comfortable a ride but they do have other benefits like hydraulic instead of manual or electric tilt beds and power steering which are much appreciated as I get older.

If anyone is considering the Kubota RTV, here's the most robust site/group for these machines.
https://www.nettractortalk.com/forums/forums/kubota-rtv-owners-group-forum.133/
 
Another thought but forgot to include in my previous post.
Trailers.
Just as an ATV or UTV is a force multiplier for you getting things done, a trailer in tow gives you that much more capacity.
I have 6 trailers that are used only around the homestead (not my road trailers) and quite often, I'll be using 3-5 of them on any given day when getting things done.
 
zoomzoom said:
Another thought but forgot to include in my previous post.
Trailers.
Just as an ATV or UTV is a force multiplier for you getting things done, a trailer in tow gives you that much more capacity.
I have 6 trailers that are used only around the homestead (not my road trailers) and quite often, I'll be using 3-5 of them on any given day when getting things done.
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That's a good point! And while I can pull a trailer with my Polaris ATV, I don't have an appropriately sized one. I only have one (and I can use it on the road) but it weighs over 1000 pounds empty. If it were just flat ground around here, I wouldn't think much of movin' it around. But there is no "flat ground" here. I'll sometimes use that with my ol' Farmall tractor, that works. But load that trailer up with some weight and it'll even push my tractor around a little more than I like.

It's one of the appealing parts of that RTV 1140 I was mentioning above, big bed. Granted, not big enough for every thing. There might still be a time for the road trailer and tractor. But that would probably be like twice a year. I'm thinkin' more of the "everyday runabout". I do kinda need to keep an eye out for a trailer, though. Good thought. Thanks!
 
zoomzoom said:
PopPopT - Are you still in PA? If so, be advised that like ATV's, you'll have to register any UTV with the State.
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Not anymore. Grew up there. Had to spend some time there with my aging parents over the last have of the last decade. Thought about moving back, but... the taxes. UUGGGHH!!! Couldn't afford PA property taxes in the area we lived. Crazy.

So... we ended up settling on the Tennessee Cumberland Plateau. It's quiet up here, kinda out in the middle of nowhere, no close neighbors but we do have some good ones. Property pretty cheap compared to most places and taxes are low. No income tax. No high fuel tax. The only high tax here is sales tax, which is almost 10%. But at least I feel like we have a little control over that in that we don't really buy a lot of stuff.

The ATV I have right now has one of those "floating titles" that I have laying around here somewhere. A guy gave it to me and also handed me the title and said we could get it titled in my name sometime if I want. He got it from someone several states away and they signed the title and gave it to him but he never got it put in his name. Probably not even legal, don't know. But nobody really cares a whole lot around here as they're just putz-around the farm kind of vehicles. (Our neighbor with the dairy farm puts more miles on their Ranger than on their pickup truck. That oughta tell ya somethin'. ;) )
 
PopPopT said:
A guy gave it to me and also handed me the title and said we could get it titled in my name sometime if I want. He got it from someone several states away and they signed the title and gave it to him but he never got it put in his name. Probably not even legal, don't know.
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If the signature of the seller on the title had that signature notarized, you're good to go. A sellers signature on the title without the notary stamp is no good. Probably not important where you are and if you keep it to your own land.
 
zoomzoom said:
If the signature of the seller on the title had that signature notarized, you're good to go.
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One of these days, I'm gonna have to see if I can even find it. I haven't seen it in at least a year, maybe two. I usually do pretty good about keeping stuff like that so it's probably stuck in a file folder somewhere it's not supposed to be.
 
PopPopT said:
One of these days, I'm gonna have to see if I can even find it. I haven't seen it in at least a year, maybe two. I usually do pretty good about keeping stuff like that so it's probably stuck in a file folder somewhere it's not supposed to be.
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Yea, happens to me too. Had to get a replacement title a few months back for one of the cars. Still can't find some stock certificates... that's pissing me off.
 
Sourdough said:
Maybe members could mention any restrictions on there use in your area. I am surrounded by National Forest, and ATV's are 100% illegal there. They are also illegal on the public road system.
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New Mexico issues on and off road tags.. No one I know ever renews them after the first year (title transfer) unless they are going to be on public lands in case the rangers check. They are a popular form of short range transportation around here.
 
If your use them in the winter, a heated cab makes a big difference. My side by side that I have my plow hooked up to has a heated cab And is a joy to operat, but the one pushing my snow blower isn’t heated and is not enclosed. After about 3 hours yesterday in the none heated one pushing the snow blower at -3 below, I was chilled to the bone. We had another big dump of snow so I’ll be back out in it again today. Fortunately the temperature today will be in the teens.
 
Alaskajohn said:
If your use them in the winter, a heated cab makes a big difference.
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Good point! In your case, I would think a cab heater would be really important!

I'm not so sure I'd get a lot of use out of a heater. We don't get much snow here and I wouldn't be likely to be out in the cold for hours. And if I am out doing something in cold weather, it's not likely to be on the UTV. Cutting wood, or even picking up downed stuff, I'd be on and off, mostly off. Also, if I were putting on the miles from place to place, I would get wanting a heater, especially thinking of "wind chill". Not a lot of that here, mostly just putzin' around our own place where the first part of the "trip" probably wouldn't even get me that much heat.
 
zoomzoom said:
the cabbed/heated RTV's also have air conditioning
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Now, that's tempting, at least a little more, for my location. Still not a big deal. Now if I lived in the Phoenix area, (son & d.i.l. want us to move out there with them, don't see a path forward for that right now,) that would be a big deal, kinda like AlaskaJohn with the heater. :)
 
The Kubota I use at work has a cab and is heated and cooled. It's nice when you need it. Windshield also opens up and doors have a latch that drops and will hold the door open enough to get good airflow. It's also set up for a hitch to be installed to tow with and its 4 wd. It does go thru front tires pretty quick. We use ours almost totally on pavement and it eats them up.
 
Used mine in Colorado on the roads through National Forest for elk hunting. Had to buy the states UTV/off road but it was totally legal in the NF then on roads. Loads of fun. Saw everything almost in the state (Cow elk, mule deer, bighorn, mountain lion, etc.) but a legally shootable bull. Still enjoyed the hunt.

Dale
 
Never understood why someone would buy a machine that can not be used on main roads.
Just get an used S10 or small pick up with liability insurance & you can still drive it anywhere you need to go.
 
joel said:
Never understood why someone would buy a machine that can not be used on main roads.
Just get an used S10 or small pick up with liability insurance & you can still drive it anywhere you need to go.
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On farms/homesteads:

Better offroad performance - get more places - get stuck a lot less
Wide, low pressure tires = Lower ground pressure, so less compaction and damage of agricultural fields - same reason they don't drive pickup trucks on golf greens
Smaller turning circle - better maneuverability
Lower fuel consumption
Faster to get in/out of - opening/closing gates
Fit through smaller gaps
Better situational awareness
Setup for spraying, towing, farming
 
Never had any problems with my small pick up & can go to the store when I need to.
With the Bush mower there are no small gaps.
 
joel said:
Never had any problems with my small pick up & can go to the store when I need to.
With the Bush mower there are no small gaps.
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Good points, Joel. But I do have to admit, there are some places I'd want to take a UTV that I don't think I'd wanna take a small pickup here on the place. I would guess that every place is probably at least somewhat unique. I do use an old minivan for some of this stuff now. So some of it would work with a regular vehicle. But some just doesn't, for varying reasons... awkward slopes, narrow places, stuff like that. But yeah, the prices of some of these UTV's are more than a road-worthy small used pickup truck.

I do miss my old Ford Ranger pickup. Had one in the 1990's. Got rid of it when I started collecting too many vehicles and often wish I still had it. Didn't have AC or even power windows. But it was a great little run-about.
 
I do love those little ol' trucks. My old Ranger (I think it was an '89) just had a little 4-banger and a 5-speed manual. Nothin' special to look at. Had some rust. Had some paint comin' off in places. Had a few dents and dings. But it was reliable (I don't think it let me set, ever) got something like 30mpg, and I think was probably under $10k brand spankin' new.

Insurance was cheap, it wasn't worth much. And if someone "dinged" it in a parking lot, I probably wouldn't have even noticed. It wasn't a sports car or anything valuable enough that it was a big target for theft.

They are still around, and every so often, I'm tempted. But... it's still not quite the right vehicle for putterin' around the homestead.
 
joel said:
Never understood why someone would buy a machine that can not be used on main roads.
Just get an used S10 or small pick up with liability insurance & you can still drive it anywhere you need to go.
Click to expand...

Your post brought back fond memories of my 1986 S-10 Blazer that I had for a decade. I loved that old maintenance nightmare and spent some money keeping it going. I thought it performed reasonably well and never got it fully stuck.

Unfortunately, a small truck like the S-10 wouldn’t work for my application. I hand cut many miles of private trails into the wilderness that a small truck wouldn’t fit on or be able to navigate around the trees I didn’t want to cut down. Plus the additional weight would easily get stuck in the soft tundra. I cut my trails just wide enough for my ATV and my small polaris 570 Razr. These are the tools I use to bring back most of my meat, berries, chaga, and firewood that we consume throughout the year.
 
A few years back I priced 4 wheel ATV's, it's crazy how much they want for them so I went in a different direction, first was an 87 Suzuki Samurai soft top which proved to be a dust collector out on the desert in northern Nevada, that one only cost $1,500. Next was an 88 tin top Samurai that worked great and kept the fine dust out, it was only $1,700, spent about $2,000 for a bigger engine for it, but the thing is Samurai's can go almost anywhere an ATV goes, been on a few ATV trails that made my wife nervous, but with the short wheelbase they go over some pretty wild humps in the trail. There are many aftermarket suppliers of upgrades for these little rigs and Samurai's are very road friendly.
 
Cascadian said:
I considered those. Most samurais I see worth buying are way overpriced.
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Yep.

Asking prices on nice ones (but still >20 years old) are often 50-70% of what they cost new back then - and not much less than first world manufactured side x side ATVs.

You can always buy one that has been beat to death........but then you have a vehicle that has been beat to death.
 
Hardcalibres said:
Yep.

Asking prices on nice ones (but still >20 years old) are often 50-70% of what they cost new back then - and not much less than first world manufactured side x side ATVs.

You can always buy one that has been beat to death........but then you have a vehicle that has been beat to death.
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The first Samurai we bought was beat to death, but it was still taking the young mother we bought it from out hunting. I drove it around the grocery store parking lot with the sound of the throwout bearing sounding off. There have been a number of other things I'v.e repaired on it but all were actually inexpensive, I just sold it to the neighbors' daughter and even with a dead battery they've had it running and drove it all over their property, even if she changed out all of the running gear it would still be less expensive than a new side by side ATV.
 
The mini trucks are small and light and are road legal.
 

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